Experimental and Numerical Study on Rolling Friction in Tower Saddle of Suspension Bridges

Abstract

Rolling friction pairs in the tower saddle of suspension bridges could significantly reduce the horizontal load that is transferred to the tower. To investigate the dependence of the rolling friction coefficient (μ) of a rolling friction pair on the normal load (fn) and the cylinder radius (R), an experiment was conducted where a sandwich-like mechanism measured μ. Based on the μ–fn–R relationship, a numerical model, which used one-dimensional (1D) Gaussian random nonplanar surface representation, was proposed in this research to calculate the overall rolling friction coefficient (μT) of a multiroller plate system. The experimental results showed that the dependence of μ on fn and R could be divided into three stages: (1) roughness; (2) elastic; and (3) inelastic. In addition, μ was proportional to